


Unmasked

by SkyJourney



Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Identity Reveal, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:17:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18650893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyJourney/pseuds/SkyJourney
Summary: Sidestep, Absolution. He'd failed as a hero, forced from his new life just as he was getting comfortable. This time was supposed to be different, but he hadn't anticipated getting caught this early, least of all by the person he cared most about.





	Unmasked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lea_vesfalling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_vesfalling/gifts).



> For my friend Lea who can't blame me because they got me into this game in the first place. Hal is their Sidestep.

Damnit. Hal dodged another electric attack hurled his way, his moves growing frantic as he desperately scanned the warehouse for a way out. Even the Rat King was tense as they wrapped their mind gently around his own. Their protective casing was barely holding together, badly damaged along with the rest of Hal’s armor. Absolution’s armor. It wasn’t supposed to be like this- he was supposed to have the advantage indoors, the extra speed his armor granted him giving him an edge as he darted through the warehouse’s crates and machinery. Somewhere along the lines he’d miscalculated. Even Herald had managed to get several blows in, his flying not impeded like Hal would have thought. The impact had been absorbed by his armor of course, it didn’t look like military gear for nothing, but it had left him open to further attacks from Steel and Argent, and their continuous hits were too much even for the reinforced armor. 

 

Maybe training his enemy to fight him hadn’t been Hal’s brightest move. 

 

The situation was less than ideal, with Ortega hot at his heels and the rest of the rangers closing in from the sides. They were herding him, cutting off his escape, and there was nothing he could do about it. But he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to try. With a boost from his jumpjets, Hal leaped over a stack of wooden palettes blocking his way, Ortega’s lightning just barely catching his feet. The red warning lights on his helmet’s HUD flashed as the jumpjets gave out, sending Hal flying uncontrollably into the side of a forklift. Pain shot through Hal’s back at the impact, his armor too damaged to absorb the brunt of it. He could feel the Rat King’s scurrying at the near loss of its protective casing, its wild panic mirroring his own. A pained grunt escaped his lips as he tried to move, his legs suddenly too heavy without the tech inside them. Shit. He couldn’t lose, not like this, not trapped in his own broken armor, lying helplessly on the floor.

 

It was Ortega who reached him first, skidding as he rounded the corner and suddenly stopped, his target sitting motionlessly against the dented machinery. There was a moment’s pause as Ortega surveyed the scene, his hands still up in a fighting stance, waiting for Absolution to move first, for the trap to spring. But there was no trap, and as Hal struggled to move, Ortega’s shoulders relaxed. Hal swore he was even smiling as he stepped closer,  _ asshole. _

 

“Well now that we’ve got you here, might as well see who’s hiding behind that helmet.” Ortega leaned down, his face spread into a grin despite the bruise forming where he’d been hit earlier in their fight. Shit. Could he hear Hal, no, Absolution’s breath quicken through the voice filter? Feel his panic, his desperation as Ortega’s hands grasped the clasps attaching the helmet to his armor? For the first time Hal was thankful he couldn’t see what Ortega saw, was about to see.

 

There was nothing Hal could do as the helmet came off, nothing but squeeze his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to look at Ortega’s face, see the grin destroyed, the hurt set in. A dead silence set in, broken only be the sound of his helmet’s HUD shattering as it hit the floor. The others were here now, their thoughts close enough to bleed into Hal’s mind. No. Hal forced them out; he couldn’t deal with their confusion, not now. Not while he was trying to piece together his own thoughts, think of anything to say, anything at all. 

 

Nothing came to mind. 

 

“Hal?” 

 

Shit. Hal tensed up, biting his lip at the sound. Hearing Ortega speak was worse than Hal could have ever imagined, his voice small and broken and so completely different from the normal confidence he spoke with. The one he’d spoken with just a moment ago. The one Hal had taken from him. 

 

“Hal what… why...” He couldn’t finish the question, there were too many of them- where was Ortega even supposed to start? ‘What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Why didn’t you tell me?’ There were too many questions for Hal to even start answering, and too many he couldn’t. Ortega took a deep breath, readying himself to try again, but his words were interrupted as Hal felt a surge of anger from behind Ortega. 

 

“Damnit let me at him.” Argent's face was pulled back into an angry snarl. The mad fury Hal could see in her mind was reflected in her stance, ready to pounce with claws outstretched, prevented only by Herald holding onto one of her arms. 

 

"Angie, we're all upset-"

 

Her gaze jumped to Herald as she pulled her arm out of his grasp. "You don't fucking get it do you? Absolution can disintegrate matter. Hal's a telepath."

 

A look of confusion passed over Herald's face and Hal could feel him putting the pieces together, the answer right there as he tried to come up with any other explanation, tried to deny to himself how low his hero had fallen.

 

Steel seemed to have no such struggle, he couldn't even deign to look surprised as he turned his gaze from Hal to Argent. "Stay back Argent. We'll deal with that later."

 

"Are you serious? He controlled my fucking mind Steel am I just supposed to forget that."  _ Not technically her mind _ , although Hal doubted Argent would appreciate that distinction. 

 

“Stand. Down. I’m not going to tell you again.”

 

Lady Argent snarled in response, her mind still racing with graphic descriptions of exactly what she’d like to do to Hal’s face as she reluctantly stepped back. For the first time Hal was grateful that Steel was around, if only for a moment. “We have to take him in Ortega.” 

 

“Now hold on. Can’t we wait just a minute, this isn’t just some random villain we’re talking about! Hal is one of us.”

 

_ Was  _ one of them. Hal shot Ortega an annoyed look- when was it going to take for him to finally get it. “Steel’s right Ortega.” He winced at his own words. It wasn’t every day he agreed with Steel and the circumstances didn’t make it any more pleasant. “I got caught.” 

 

On any other day Hal would have paid serious money for a chance to see Steel’s usual stern countenance turn to wide eyed surprise. Seeing it now almost made it worth getting caught- at least something good had come out of the day. Even then the expression was short lived, replaced by a look that almost bordered pity. Hal didn’t know where in his armor Steel had kept them, but it wasn’t long before Hal’s gloves were removed and he was handcuffed and lead to an unassuming getaway van. The sea air was cool on his exposed face, the night silent and calm this far away from the main streets of Los Diabolos. There was no one around but their small group, and Hal breathed a small sigh of relief. 

 

At least his face wouldn’t end up in any newspapers,  _ yet _ . If he was lucky, the farm wouldn’t even find out about this. Hal grimaced at the thought- his luck hadn’t exactly helped him much today had it. 

 

Ortega helped Hal into the back of the van, the handcuffs making it too difficult for him to do it alone. It wasn't a fancy van, no comfortable seats, just two long benches on either side facing each other while a sturdy divider separated them from the driver's seat. A prisoner transport, and Hal was the prisoner. It hit him while Ortega fastened Hal's seatbelt and then sat down across from him: they had planned for this. The fight here at the warehouse, they'd come prepared to win it. Through the van's tinted windows Hal could just barely make out Steel talking to Argent and Herald, their voices too low for him to make out but their thoughts clear enough. Herald and Lady Argent were going ahead to keep an eye out for trouble. Which meant… Hal grimaced as Steel climbed into the driver's side, Herald and Argent already disappearing from view. 

 

At least the barrier meant they wouldn't have to talk to each other. 

 

The ride to the Rangers HQ was fairly uneventful, but as they got further into the city Hal could see Ortega becoming more and more restless, bouncing his leg as he alternated between staring out the dark tinted window and staring at Hal. It was starting to get on his nerves. “What.” 

 

Ortega blinked in confusion.

 

“You keep staring at me Ortega. If you want to say something just say it but this,” he gestured vaguely at Ortega, “this isn’t helping.” 

 

The leg bouncing stopped and Ortega ran a hand through his hair, looking almost sheepish. It wasn’t an expression Hal was used to seeing on him. “I just. Don’t understand Hal. I thought we… I thought we had something. Whatever it is that lead you to here, I could have been there for you.”

 

Hal could feel the anger growing inside him, his cheeks turning red as he glared back defiantly at Ortega. “You don’t always know what’s best for me  _ Ricardo _ .”

 

“And you do? Look at yourself! Is this what’s best for you?” 

 

A bitter laugh escaped Hal as he looked up at Ortega’s face, filled with pain and… something else. Not acceptance, no, but acknowledgement. Like some part of him had known who Absolution was already, deep down. Hal took a deep breath. “It’s not like I had a choice, this was all I could ever be after Heartbreak after  _ them _ … It was the only path left for me. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t exactly tell you.” 

 

“I could have helped.” The words were soft, kind, and as was Ortega leaning forward, his hand, gently cupping Hal’s face. Damnit why didn’t Ortega just get it, get that Hal was broken. Why did he never listen, always pushing back against Hal’s bitterness with kindness? It would be undignified for Hal to cry now, the city’s big new villain undone because of some kind words and a hand on his cheek. Still Hal couldn’t help the tears that came to his eyes as he forced himself to keep looking at Ortega, his voice unsteady as he spoke. 

 

“You don’t get it. You can’t get what happened to me during Heartbreak I…” Hal squeezed his eyes shut, the memory too close to the surface, the hurt too open even after all these years. “It was too much. All that pressure inside my head, Heartbreak threatening to get in, take control, I… Tried to end it, before it could. And then I failed and I woke up and  _ they…”  _ Too close to the truth, too much being revealed, he had to be more careful. Hal took a deep breath, steading himself. “You can’t possibly understand why I became… this. How the Hell would you loving me have “helped” stop that.” 

 

Shit. He hadn't meant to say that last bit, not like that. With a sigh Hal turned his head to the side, shrugging off Ortega’s hand as he glanced out the window. Between the dark tint and the few streetlight he could just make out the trees and grassy meadows of Los Diabolos' main park, empty save for a few people this late at night. It wasn't much further to the Ranger's HQ. When he spoke again his voice was quieter, the anger deflated at the view outside and at Ortega’s hand, now resting on Hal’s knee. "What I mean is that this," Hal gestured at himself as best he could, the movement limited through the handcuffs still on his wrists, "this was inevitable. I couldn't stop it, and you couldn't have either and if you would have tried… Either I would have gotten you hurt or…"  _ you would have hurt me _ . The words were clear in his mind but he swallowed them down, unable to throw them at Ortega, unable to hurt him even more. 

 

The hand on his knee was gentle, comforting, but Hal couldn't turn back and face Ortega. There was too much threatening to spill out, he had to keep it together, but every word from Ortega made that harder and harder. Hal didn't know what to do with kindness. There was a moment of silence as Ortega waited for Hal to demand he move his hand, but the demand never came and Ortega's voice was soft as he spoke. "You know that's not true, just think back to before… You had plenty of people you were close to then, we were close." 

 

"What about Anathema?" 

 

"Anathema?" The question caught him off guard and Ortega couldn't hide the confusion in his voice. "Hal his death is not your fault- you didn't kill him, Heartbreak did."

 

Hal clenched his hands and bit his lip, forcing down the tears that threatened to come out. Now was not the time to fall apart, that would only make Ortega more sympathetic and that wasn't what Hal needed now. He needed him to understand, needed it more than anything else. Hal's voice was vaguely hysterical as he answered, the calm facade he projected slipping as the truth threatened to burst out. "No. I was lagging behind because of the dampers, and he stayed because he was watching my back. He died because I couldn't deal with a fucking headache. And I-"  _ didn't even do anything important during Heartbreak.  _ The revelation was like a gut punch. Nothing he'd done that day had mattered in the end, it was Ortega and Steel that had saved the day while he was busy bleeding out on the pavement. Useless, meaningless. What was he even doing? Nothing he did changed anything, how had he deluded himself into thinking things would be different as Absolution?

 

It was all pointless. 

 

This time Hal couldn't stop the tears that fell silently and warm down his face. No sobs or screaming, just a quiet stream as he finally faced the truth, the real truth. The inside of the van became even darker as they entered the parking garage beneath the Ranger HQ, the lights inside taking a moment to activate. The darkness hid his tears and Hal was grateful for it. It was just enough time for him to collect himself before Ortega could notice. 

 

His face was dry and stoic again by the time the lights illuminated the empty parking garage, and they sat in silence as Steel parked the van and helped Hal climb out the back. Even without being able to read Ortega's mind, Hal could tell he was shaken, didn't know how to respond to Hal's last outburst. They stood shoulder to shoulder as Steel went ahead to make preparations, leaving them alone. The silence was almost suffocating, and the stale underground air wasn't helping matters. Hal looked up at Ortega. How could he deny the truth now? He had hurt Ortega, not just in the fights as Absolution but in a deeper more personal way. For months Hal had lied to him, to the only person he could truly say he loved. What did that say about him? 

 

"Ricardo?" The softness of Hal's voice drew Ortega out of his thoughts, and as he turned to look at Hal, Hal leaned up to press one gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry. You deserved better." 

 

Ortega said nothing, and Hal could see the tears forming in his eyes as he pulled Hal close and held him tightly. He'd done this to him, he was the reason Ortega was breaking down like this. With his hands still bound Hal could only rest his head on Ortega's shoulder, hoping his regret could come through. 

 

Knowing it wouldn't be enough. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Steel in the front of the van like, trying really hard to concentrate on the road and wishing he'd just taken an uber. 
> 
> "But if you're Charge, and I'm Absolution, then who's driving the van."


End file.
